Japanese team wins the final of the '2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers'... MVP Hon Inoue · Highest viewership rating

In MBN’s ’2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers Competition,’ the Japanese team claimed the final victory. In the fifth episode aired on the 12th, the first and second rounds of the finals ended in a tie, and in the last third round of the finals, both the scores from the Korea-Japan celebrity judging panel and the national judging panel were revealed.

In the third round of the finals aired that day, a tight competition continued, with the Korea-Japan celebrity judging panel scoring a 5 to 5 tie. In the interim score tally, Korea led 4 to 3, but with the addition of 240 points from the Korea-Japan national judging panel, Japan won by a 3-point margin, leading Korea 7 to 4. Since the first and second rounds of the finals ended in a tie, attention was focused on the final third round results.

In the showdown between the Korea-Japan kings of singers, Hong Ji-yoon performed the Japanese enka representative song ″Bokyojongkara″ and showed passion by directly recruiting a shamisen player, a traditional Japanese string instrument. Bon Inoue chose the group Mamamoo’s ″Decalcomanie,″ showcasing various charms including singing, rap, and dance. Shin Dong-yup commented, ″It was a song choice that expressed respect for the opposing country.″ In this match, Hong Ji-yoon defeated Bon Inoue.

In the Korea-Japan duet competition, Korea’s Gu Soo-kyung and Lee Soo-yeon sang ″Azaleas,″ while Japan’s Azuma Aki and Arakawa Karen performed ″Jangsu Beetle″ and won the championship. Lee Soo-yeon lost to Arakawa Karen based on the Korea-Japan national judging panel scores.

At the awards ceremony, Solji and Arakawa Karen received the ″Rising Star Award,″ and Hong Ji-yoon and Azuma Aki were awarded the ″Korea-Japan Bridge Award.″ The MVP was awarded to the Japanese team’s king of singers, Bon Inoue, who expressed, ″I will show you more effort as a singer and artist in the future.″

Meanwhile, on the 19th, the ″2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers Competition - Gala Show,″ featuring the active TOP7 from Korea and Japan, is scheduled to be broadcast.